How To Get The Most Out Of Your Freelancer

It never fails to surprise me how many people don’t use freelancers, or only half use freelancers while paying full price.

Outsourcing work can give your business a huge boost. As well as defined added value, freelancers offer a fresh perspective, flexibility and you can employ specific talents when you need them. More and more businesses, particularly small businesses, are choosing freelancers rather than taking on full-time staff.

But working with the wrong freelancer can be a waste of time and money and leave you feeling frustrated. As a freelancer, I can promise that we are also left frustrated.

So how do you work together for maximum success?

Working with a freelancer could change your business forever.

Pick your freelancer

I know the common phrase is “there’s an app for that.” But I can promise you, whatever you need, “there’s a freelancer for that.”

Freelancing is wonderful because it allows people to focus on their specialty and bring out their individual talents. Working with the wrong freelancer is the faster way to send a project downhill.

Ask for sample work or see a portfolio and double-check that their skills match your needs. You might need someone with technical qualifications or someone with more experience. Perhaps you want a more generalised, friendly approach. Look at reviews and websites, and testimonials to ensure that the person you’re working with is the person you want to work with.

Talk budget early on

People tend to shy away from talking about money, but getting it out the way is better. If your budget doesn’t match their price, stop wasting time and find someone else. Set your constraints, let them know what you are willing to pay and what you expect. You’ll soon find that some freelancers are way out of your budget, and others charge way less.

If you want to get on with your freelancer and get going on a job, don’t put off talking about money. Make it clear. Your potential freelancer will thank you as you can bet they’ve had difficult conversations about money in the past and you being upfront is refreshing, even if you don’t end up working together.

It’s best to talk money early on. It saves time.

Have a good brief

There’s nothing more frustrating than having an open-ended brief, sending the work back to the client for review, and them changing everything. If the details don’t bother you, then a general brief is fine; just don’t nit-pick later.

If you want to have something exactly your way, that’s fine. But have everything we need to know ready at the start. There is nothing more annoying and time-wasting than the back-and-forth after a bad brief.

Tell me what I need to know, and let me get on with it. If you remember something, reach out and tell me asap. Don’t wait until after the first draft.

Give feedback

Freelancers don’t get it right the first time. Particularly if this is the first time you’ve worked together. Freelancers have multiple clients on the go, which means several different ways of working and work styles.

The overall aim for both freelancer and client is for the work to be exactly right. That only happens if you say what’s wrong. There’s no need to be rude but clear feedback is invaluable. Otherwise, your freelancer will be guessing and trying to read your mind. Make it easy and just say what you like and what you don’t. Keep this, change that, move that.

Communication and feedback are crucial to a good working relationship

Clear, concise, and actually helpful.

Clear communication

Related to feedback is communication. If you want radio silence until the first report date, let them know you don’t want to be disturbed. If you want daily reports, tell them. Everyone is different, and freelancers are like chameleons and will adapt to your style. We have ten clients to speak to a day, so we need to know if we can bother you with questions or leave you alone.

Set communication expectations early. This way, your freelance knows where they stand and won’t hesitate to reach out if they need to or will get on with it alone.

Also, let them know how you like to communicate. Is email fine? Do you want calls once a week to update you? Remember that your freelancer has probably worked on 12 similar projects, especially if they are a specialist. Let them know if you are interested in their expert opinion and are open to changes or if you just want them to follow your brief.

Most projects involve back and forth, so don’t make it more complicated than it needs to be.

Respect

Probably the biggest one. When you work with a freelancer, you are working with a partner for that specific project. A partner.

Freelancers want to project to go well. It’s more than just getting paid. Many of us put our names to the work and could use it in a portfolio to secure future contracts. We want it to be the best it can be. If you show no respect, we can always find another project and another client who will treat us better. You’ll get the bare minimum. We will only be invested for the money, which means the project will be good but not extraordinary.

If you want your freelancer to give it their all, listen, provide feedback, take feedback, make suggestions and go above and beyond, you have to respect them. Listen to their opinion; they’ve done this a lot. Give them a reasonable budget and a reasonable deadline. Understand that if you want something rushed, you have to pay more.

You are partners with your freelancer.